Latest Ebay scam using valid tracking # to wrong address

JwRosenthal · Oct 2, 2020

DManzaluni
I have had three packages lost by the USPS over the last year! They definitely DO NOT keep any record of delivery addresses where they have lost a package!!!!!

I think they have also reduced the time for making a claim against them for loss to two months! Whether this reduction would hold up in court is an open point, - if you could ever get that far?

They actually can pinpoint where the scan of the package was done. I have developed a relationship with the manager of my local branch- she knows my voice when I call and will send the carrier back out the door at 4:45 to get my package if they mis-delivered it.
If the OP's scammer were committing this kind of fraud using USPS, that's a serious offense- most likely why they used UPS.

SkunkPrince · Oct 2, 2020

JwRosenthal
If the OP's scammer were committing this kind of fraud using USPS, that's a serious offense- most likely why they used UPS.

Indeed... mail fraud is a Federal crime in the United States.

Vercingetorix · Oct 2, 2020

SkunkPrince
Indeed... mail fraud is a Federal crime in the United States.

Private business is also covered if it crosses state lines.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1341

bgrisso · Oct 2, 2020

yep, it's still mail fraud even if you are not using USPS..........

WYO_Watch · Oct 2, 2020

I had this happen with a camera lens that wasn’t so cheap to insinuate a scam, but a good price. Seller sent a 3 ounce letter to a person with the same zip code.

I three way called ups and ebay and they verified it wasn’t shipped to my address on the account. They also verified that it was a 3 ounce package and I read the lens weight to eBay. Huge waste of time....

I think that’s how most of these scams play out. A little clever, but then relying on people not wanting to devote the time to talk to eBay reps that don’t have a clue.

Syrte · Oct 3, 2020

bgrisso
Just a short update, since I had already appealed the case with Ebay before getting the refund from paypal, ebay wrote back and said I have to file a police report, because they think the package was stolen from my porch, or I have to provide written proof the package was sent to a different address (which UPS will not provide for security reasons). I have 10 days to provide these two forms of documentation or the case automatically closes.

UPS will only verify that package was sent to a different address on the phone, but ebay will not call them. (Paypal was happy to call UPS and verify this, then give me a refund).

Anyhow, pretty disappointed with ebay, I thought this obvious of a scam would be an open and shut case in favor of the buyer. Lucky that it worked out with paypal. Definitely gives me pause going forward........

Actually UPS seems the one most at fault.
They’ve been paid by you what I suppose was more than a USPS shipment to provide a premium service, so to refuse written confirmation is extraordinary.
If I were you I would send them a copy of the police report or complaint and send them a formal letter, cc you lawyer, to demand confirmation in writing.
Maybe you’ve just had idiots on the phone and once a adult gets a formal demand you’ll go somewhere.

I should mention I have been very dissatisfied with the service UPS provided on the delivery of a watch to me in France. It’s nothing comparable to you but I had to spend 50 euros in taxi to fetch a watch two days in a row to their warehouses- they had forgotten to follow instructions and remove them from their truck after a failed delivery. I was fuming.

Vercingetorix · Oct 3, 2020

Syrte
Actually UPS seems the one most at fault.
They’ve been paid by you what I suppose was more than a USPS shipment to provide a premium service, so to refuse written confirmation is extraordinary.
If I were you I would send them a copy of the police report or complaint and send them a formal letter, cc you lawyer, to demand confirmation in writing.
Maybe you’ve just had idiots on the phone and once a adult gets a formal demand you’ll go somewhere.

I should mention I have been very dissatisfied with the service UPS provided on the delivery of a watch to me in France. It’s nothing comparable to you but I had to spend 50 euros in taxi to fetch a watch two days in a row to their warehouses- they had forgotten to follow instructions and remove them from their truck after a failed delivery. I was fuming.

The OP did not pay UPS, the scammer did.

Syrte · Oct 3, 2020

Vercingetorix
The OP did not pay UPS, the scammer did.

Doesn’t matter, that was included in the sale price. I would make the argument the buyer is paying for the shipment.
And as a buyer I can decide I will boycott UPS shipment services for most items- which I have done.
@bgrisso could alao point to this thread showing it’s harmful to UPS’s reputation - which it should.

Vercingetorix · Oct 3, 2020

Syrte
Doesn’t matter, that was included in the sale price. I would make the argument the buyer is paying for the shipment.
And as a buyer I can decide I will boycott UPS shipment services for most items- which I have done.
@bgrisso could alao point to this thread showing it’s harmful to UPS’s reputation - which it should.

UPS would only respond to who paid them. The scammer paid UPS. Making an argument that buyer paid UPS, through the scammer, misses the point that the whole thing is a scam.

befobe · Oct 3, 2020

Arg, bad point for eBay. Makes me think in a different way about this platform. Until now, I thought it was one of the most robust, about issue and refund...
Thanks for sharing that experience.

🤨🤨🤨

sgrossma · Oct 3, 2020

I know UPS can also pin point exactly where a scan was made. As of last year FedEx could not, but I don’t know if this has changed.

JwRosenthal · Oct 3, 2020

sgrossma
I know UPS can also pin point exactly where a scan was made. As of last year FedEx could not, but I don’t know if this has changed.

The revelation my PO manager came to when she realized that not just my package was delivered to the wrong address was that the driver was scanning them all at the truck and then dropping them off to save time- this is a big no-no. I haven't seen that carrier since.
I have no doubt that the OP's situation is a scam that has been carefully thought out by the scammer preying on the loose delivery guidelines of all parcel delivery companies since April (no sig even on sig priority packages "due to covid"). But I have discovere that if you dig for your local distribution center's phone number (or USPS local office) they have far more invested in your local community than the 800# folks and will work harder to resolve an issue- particularly if you are standing in front of them....and you always catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

sgrossma · Oct 3, 2020

My favorite (and this happened constantly pre-covid) was when the package would get marked as delivered by FedEx at 10:29 and yet nobody would ring my doorbell until 10:48.
Just to meet the 10:30 on-time guarantee...
Thank you ring doorbell.

bgrisso · Oct 3, 2020

Syrte
Doesn’t matter, that was included in the sale price. I would make the argument the buyer is paying for the shipment.
And as a buyer I can decide I will boycott UPS shipment services for most items- which I have done.
@bgrisso could alao point to this thread showing it’s harmful to UPS’s reputation - which it should.

UPS regards the shipper as the client in this case it seems, not the recipient. I was on the phone with them three times and their policy seemed quite clear and consistent.

this scam just seems like a loophole waiting to be exploited. When the businesses involved lose enough money, they will do something about it.

the scammer declared the package at the weight it should be (6 pounds), so they are paying full shipping costs, plus eBay and PayPal fees, for an item that sold for $160 usd.

Thrasher36 · Oct 3, 2020

It happened to me, Not on eBay but an online seller used the same tactic UPS tracking to my city but not my address. I called PayPal and they handled it.

Japanred · Oct 3, 2020

bgrisso
Just a short update, since I had already appealed the case with Ebay before getting the refund from paypal, ebay wrote back and said I have to file a police report, because they think the package was stolen from my porch, or I have to provide written proof the package was sent to a different address (which UPS will not provide for security reasons). I have 10 days to provide these two forms of documentation or the case automatically closes.

UPS will only verify that package was sent to a different address on the phone, but ebay will not call them. (Paypal was happy to call UPS and verify this, then give me a refund).

Anyhow, pretty disappointed with ebay, I thought this obvious of a scam would be an open and shut case in favor of the buyer. Lucky that it worked out with paypal. Definitely gives me pause going forward........

Sorry to hear this. I lost about £150 by selling on eBay about 10 years ago when the buyer lied and said they hadn’t received an item. eBay customer service was a waste of time and automatically refunded the buyer so that I was out of pocket, despite me providing proof of postage to the correct address (as a seller what else can you do?)

Haven’t dealt with either eBay since and never will do.

bgrisso · Oct 18, 2020

Another brief update, Ebay closed the appeal, again siding with the seller and refusing to provide a refund. Of course the refund has already been given by Paypal. Half the seller feedback in the past 4 weeks was negative feedback saying the seller was running a scam and it appears the seller account is suspended. But my negative feedback was blocked.

Anyhow it's either "machine" logic without any human eyeballs on the situation, or else total incompetence.

Either way it's the first time for me in 20 years that Ebay has failed to protect from a scam. I had gotten rather complacent thinking I was always covered. Good thing it was a cheap item and Paypal came through on the refund.

In the future I don't think I would even bother dealing with Ebay in a situation like this, total waste of time. Just deal with Paypal.

asrnj77 · Oct 19, 2020

Part of PayPal’s protection for the seller requires proof of delivery and signature required for items over $750. That seems to be a big fault in the scam for anybody using PayPal. If the seller never actually listed your address they wouldn’t be able to meet step one of the counter claim process. In that case the seller is out the postage cost for mailing whatever nonsense he mailed. Then PayPal will take the money back or lock the account. It just seems like the scammers are getting lazy

khanmu · Oct 23, 2020

So, this scam has just happened to me here in London! Not a watch, but an expensive pair of candles (£250!! I know, I know, but it’s for my wife’s birthday and she loves them..)

Anyway, I bought the candles, paid promptly, there was a delayed delivery, then they showed as being sent, with Royal Mail tracked and signed. Then they popped up as delivered and signed for yesterday. Which of course they hadn’t been by me, as I’d be in all day. I emailed the seller, saying that I hadn’t received them, especially at the time stated on the tracking, as I’d been home, and also that I had video evidence that no one had been at the house or my neighbours at the time stated, as I had a video doorbell and proof of this. He said he thought that was strange but would look into it and get back to me.

As luck would have it, our postman delivered something today, and when I asked him, he recalled that he had dropped off something with that tracking number, 10 doors away. So off we went up the road, and he was right - here’s the thing, it was a letter containing randomn marketing materials but with no name. My neighbours said they had been puzzled by it, so they gave it back to the postman to return to sender, which he accepted and scanned in. I took photos and messaged the seller, but of course, no reply. I’ve raised an eBay case so let’s see what happens!

bgrisso · Oct 23, 2020

khanmu
So, this scam has just happened to me here in London! Not a watch, but an expensive pair of candles (£250!! I know, I know, but it’s for my wife’s birthday and she loves them..)

Anyway, I bought the candles, paid promptly, there was a delayed delivery, then they showed as being sent, with Royal Mail tracked and signed. Then they popped up as delivered and signed for yesterday. Which of course they hadn’t been by me, as I’d be in all day. I emailed the seller, saying that I hadn’t received them, especially at the time stated on the tracking, as I’d been home, and also that I had video evidence that no one had been at the house or my neighbours at the time stated, as I had a video doorbell and proof of this. He said he thought that was strange but would look into it and get back to me.

As luck would have it, our postman delivered something today, and when I asked him, he recalled that he had dropped off something with that tracking number, 10 doors away. So off we went up the road, and he was right - here’s the thing, it was a letter containing randomn marketing materials but with no name. My neighbours said they had been puzzled by it, so they gave it back to the postman to return to sender, which he accepted and scanned in. I took photos and messaged the seller, but of course, no reply. I’ve raised an eBay case so let’s see what happens!

interesting. In this case you tracked down the errant package so I would hope it's more clear cut

Latest Ebay scam using valid tracking # to wrong address

JwRosenthal

SkunkPrince

Vercingetorix

bgrisso

WYO_Watch

Syrte

Vercingetorix

Syrte

Vercingetorix

befobe

sgrossma

JwRosenthal

sgrossma

bgrisso

Thrasher36

Japanred

bgrisso

asrnj77

khanmu

bgrisso

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